[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 59 (Monday, April 26, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Page S2638]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         RECOGNIZING THE NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE

  Mr. CHAMBLISS. Mr. President, I rise to congratulate the Natural 
Resources Conservation Service, NRCS, on its 75th anniversary.
  Even though we are an urban nation, we are still an agricultural 
land. Nearly 70 percent of the United States, exclusive of Alaska, is 
held in private ownership by millions of individuals. Fifty percent of 
the United States--907 million acres--is cropland, pasture-land, and 
rangeland owned and managed by farmers and ranchers and their families.
  In the early 1900s, President Roosevelt and other conservationists 
like John Muir and Gifford Pinchot had the foresight to set aside 
America's special places as national parks and forests, seashores, and 
wilderness areas. America's public land became a showcase for some of 
the most dramatic and beautiful landscapes on the North American 
continent.
  But others also recognized the importance of America's private land 
to the health of the Nation. It took the seriousness of the Dust Bowl 
for this message to be accepted. Rooted in our national experience with 
devastating soil erosion of that time, the conservation movement began 
with the purpose of keeping productive topsoil--and a productive 
agriculture--in place.
  To lead conservation efforts at the Federal level, Congress created 
the Soil Conservation Service, SCS, within the U.S. Department of 
Agriculture, USDA, in 1935. SCS was renamed the Natural Resources 
Conservation Service, NRCS, in 1994. This was the beginning of the 
Nation's historic commitment to a conservation partnership with farmers 
and ranchers.
  At the same time, the Nation also adopted a remarkable Federal, 
State, and local partnership for delivering conservation assistance to 
farmers and ranchers. The concept was that NRCS would deliver technical 
and financial assistance for conservation, while State governments and 
local conservation districts would connect with individual landowners 
and set local priorities.
  From the beginning, this was a cooperative approach, drawing on many 
sources for technical knowledge, financial assistance, and broad-based 
educational programs for natural resources conservation and management. 
This partnership remains the preeminent model for intergovernmental 
cooperation today and is admired around the world.
  In the 1980s, NRCS's programs began to change as Congress began to 
increase incentives for farmers and ranchers to practice good 
conservation. During the 1990s, Congress accelerated the investment in 
conservation by creating additional programs, such as the Environmental 
Quality Incentives Program, EQIP, to share the cost of enhancing 
natural resources on farms, ranches and private forestland.
  Congress increased this investment in the 2002 and 2008 farm bills 
and is expected to continue to support conservation well into the 
future. However, there are challenges in conservation today. One 
challenge is how to sustain the ability of NRCS to provide technical, 
scientifically sound advice and assistance in a time of tight budgets 
and increased demands. Another challenge is how to maintain the highly 
successful conservation partnership that works with farmers and 
ranchers as individuals to address their specific conservation 
concerns.
  W.C. Lowdermilk, the Assistant Chief of the Soil Conservation Service 
in the 1930s said, ``In a very real sense the land does not lie; it 
bears a record of what men write on it. In a larger sense, a Nation 
writes its record on the land. This record is easy to read by those who 
understand the simple language of the land.'' Conservation leads to 
prosperous, healthy societies and stable, self-sufficient countries. It 
sustains the agricultural productivity that allows for division of 
labor and the growth and longevity of a society.
  Careful land stewardship through terracing, crop rotation and other 
soil conservation measures enables societies to flourish. However, 
neglect of the land, manifested as soil erosion, deforestation, and 
overgrazing, helps to topple empires and destroy entire civilizations.
  These lessons of history, including our own with the Dust Bowl of the 
1930s, are ones we should not forget. America's future is tied to how 
we treat our land. Today, the Nation's farmers and ranchers deliver 
safe, reliable, high quality food, feed, and fiber to the Nation and to 
the world, but also much more. Through their careful stewardship, 
farmers, ranchers, and private forest landowners also deliver clean 
water, productive wildlife habitat, and healthy landscapes.
  Today, we thank all who have made this happen through their service 
to our country as part of the NRCS. Congratulations on your 75th 
anniversary.

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